Introduction to Arguments

Actions and commands that OliveTin runs, without arguments, are generally quite safe - only that command can be run, without modifications. However, many users need the flexibility to set options on that command - normally called command line arguments. In OliveTin, arguments are defined in a shell commands like echo {{ message }}, with a bit of extra configuration.

Examples of valid argument names are {{ personName }}, {{ customer_number }} and {{ ISBN11_code }}.

  • a-z (case insensitive)

  • _ is allowed

  • numbers are allowed (argument names can also start with numbers)

  • all other characters are invalid for argument names.

Argument descriptions

Each argument can include a description: shown under the field on the argument form. OliveTin renders that value as raw HTML, so you can use markup such as links, line breaks, or emphasis:

arguments:
  - name: host
    title: Hostname
    type: ascii_identifier
    description: |
      Enter a host OliveTin can reach.
      See the <a href="https://example.com/docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">network guide</a>.

Treat description as trusted markup that you control (the same trust model as dashboard displays). Do not put untrusted or entity-derived strings into it without careful escaping.

What’s Next?

Now that you understand how arguments work, explore the different argument types and features: